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If there was any doubt coming in, and I'll admit I had some, Chris Simms proved today that's he's the QB of this team. Even though we didn't win he played great. He kept his head through the whole game and we have a great future. I can't believe Shepherd dropped that ball!!!!

About the "dropped pass"... I think it should've been ruled a catch.... But anyways... yes, Simms play very very well for you guys... Every sports analyst in the Country was doubting him and said that Tampa Bay would lose because of him... and I dont think that's the case..._________________

I thought so, too. But it was one of those plays that wouldn't have been overturned either way. If it had been ruled a catch, the ref would have kept it a catch citing what appeared to be control with 2 feet and a knee down before his head hit the ground. Since it was ruled incomplete...well, we all saw what happened.

Chris Simms really did impress me today. Those INTs weren't completely his fault since they were both tipped. But it is part of his job to find open lanes to throw through. All in all, it was a good learning experience, and a better season than Tampa had last year. But it's got to be disappointing to go out like that. Sometimes the ball bounces in funny ways._________________

A couple of things cost us this game. The fumble, the ints, etc...
However, the most frustrating thing was the play of the o-line. It confirmed my ideas about them: Mahan got his [inappropriate/removed] whipped again today, Wade was abused a number of times and Davis just can't pass block(sack and constant pressure).

We really really need to draft a LT. This give us a number of choices and competition across every spot. Mahan and Wade could fight it out for the Center spot, Davis and Terry for the RG spot with Colmer and Yatta(if we resign him)competing for the RT spot(maybe even Davis at RT too).

The picks hurt and they were partly Simms' fault. He throws a low ball, he's had tipped balls all day. But if the O-line doesn't control the D-line then the D-linemen can get close enough to tip the ball. I agree we need an upgrade. But unless you draft the top LT (Ferguson) you won't have a starter for next year. Robert Gallery didn't start at LT his rookie year. We need to sign a LT (which is tough) and O-line help so they can come in and play right now. Draft to add youth to our D and sign the help Simms need.

About the "dropped pass"... I think it should've been ruled a catch.... But anyways... yes, Simms play very very well for you guys... Every sports analyst in the Country was doubting him and said that Tampa Bay would lose because of him... and I dont think that's the case...

Yea, it was the refs that lost it for us. When his knee was down, he had posession of the ball, and last time I checked the knee counts as being down. I think Simms played great this season. They should cut Griese this off season, and use that money to bring in more talent at wide out._________________

I think Rattay will be gone,pro football weekly had reported him being in Grudens doghouse and having difficulty learning the playbook and the terminology

I hadn't heard that. What I know about that guy is he came in and played well in San Fran when he wasn't being killed and knocked out of the game. It's a mobility issue but it's an OL issue too. I also know that when the Pats drafted in 2001 their 6th rounder came down to Brady or Rattey. They thought both were very smart but Brady had physical advantages. I've always remembered that comment.

hey this is the article taken from profootball weekly,seems i misread the article the first time around but gives the qb landscape

Dec. 27, 2005

Our sources tell us that after QB Chris Simmsí first two turnover-filled starts, the Buccaneers scaled back the offense and started max-protecting the quarterback for his third start. Simms has been successful ever since, using formations that almost exclusively employ two tight ends or a tight end and a fullback. Despite Simmsí steady play since replacing the injured Brian Griese, Simms isnít a shoo-in to resume his starting role next season. Heís a restricted free agent after the season, and the team isnít sure what condition Griese will be in when he returns from a serious knee injury. The Buccaneers also need to evaluate Tim Rattay, whom they acquired in a trade with San Francisco earlier this season. Rattay has been slow to pick up Jon Grudenís complex offense, but we hear he should have all the nuances of the scheme down by next year.

Yeah, I've heard Rattey is really smart and he did really well in San Fran the year Garcia got hurt for half the season. He may only be a career back-up but that's all we're looking for.

Besides, Rattey came into the most complex offense in the NFL, in the middle of the season, from a completely different system and played the 3rd string. Give him the offseason, if he's back he'll be a good back-up.

I said at some point in here that Simms was a steal when you drafted him. I've been closely following his career since he left TExas and he's going to be a stud for yall. I'm now a Bucs fan cause Chris plays there . Course, no where near as much of a bucs fan as I am a Cowboys fan, but after the Cowboys it's the Bucs and any other team a Texas grad plays for haha.

The picks hurt and they were partly Simms' fault. He throws a low ball, he's had tipped balls all day. But if the O-line doesn't control the D-line then the D-linemen can get close enough to tip the ball. I agree we need an upgrade. But unless you draft the top LT (Ferguson) you won't have a starter for next year. Robert Gallery didn't start at LT his rookie year. We need to sign a LT (which is tough) and O-line help so they can come in and play right now. Draft to add youth to our D and sign the help Simms need.

Let me illustrate the size of the problem(and these are quotes from dalbuc at pewterreport):

"Rushing- 22% of our rush yards (6th overall) came from runs past 10 yards. When you get past that point the line ain't doing anything (by and large) so there are a ton of yards they aren't on the hook for helping us get. On the flip side 29% of our rushes got dropped for no gain or a loss (that is 30th in the NFL). When a good back like Caddy gets drilled like that you hang that on the OL because it means he had no chance or he'd have gotten something. Frankly, ponder this- how many times did you think to yourself, "Wow, that is one of the best 1 yard runs I've seen" this year? Also ponder how many times you thought to yourself, "If that had been Pittman he would have lost a yard." I know the answer both times was a lot for me. In other words, a lot of what we did do they aren't there for and they caused our rushing attack to be a lot worse than it needed to be.

Pass Blocking - They ranked 25th in sacks allowed per pass play. Despite a better rushing attack and a lot of help from 2 and 3 TE sets to max protect the line still allowed a lot of sacks and was among the very worst in the league - the teams below us are mostly the very high draft pick types (HOU, SF, NYJ, CLE, BUF for example)."

"More: we played 7 games vs top 15 rushing defenses (CHI, WAS x2, CAR x2, MIA, NE) and 10 vs the bottom 14 (MIN, NYJ, DET, GB, BUF, NOx2, ATLx2, SF). In the 7 games vs top 15 defenses we were: 87 ypg (3.3 ypc). In the 11 games vs the bottom 14 we were: 119 ypg (4.4 ypc). Obviously good teams slow down the run but that 87 ypg and 3.3 ypc is less than the yardage allowed of ANY of the defenses we played AND less than the ypc allowed by any team this season. Keeping in midn that of the 4 "hurt" Caddy games 3 came vs the bad run defenses or these stats would skew even more. In other words, we were well below average when we played the best run defenses and if backs can run vs bad defenses then the easy answer is that vs the good defenses there was nowhere to run."

"The OL is clearly the weakest unit on the team and the one that would benefit most from a talent upgrade. We had the #1 defense, upgrading that side of the ball really isn't all that possible in relative terms or in terms of the value of using our top pick on it. We've got young AND productive talent at QB, RB, TE. That leaves OT, OG, C, FB, WR as spots to upgrade. FB, C and OG are waste of value in R1. Now we've got WR and OT. WR is a good value but the assumption is that Clayton will get right once he heals and then we're looking for a #3 eventual #2 type player and that isn't high value in R1. That leaves OT as really the one screaming need, right now, for an upgrade."
and to address your, "you won't get a guy that come in right away and play":

"The history of OT's in R1 is immediate impact, go back from 2005 until 1995 of the 35 R1 LOT's only 4 were not regualar contributors their rookie year: Victor Roley, Jon Michaels, Andre Johnson and Trezelle Jenkins. Now, you have some (Kenyatta Walker) that played before they should but in general if you have a 88.5% "hit" rate of at least getting guys to play year 1 that is a good risk."

Our running game was even more pathetic than the numbers imply. The only play that we could actually execute well was that stupid counter play to the left with Mahan pulling...predictable?...no way

Then, there isn't any talent at LT in free agency(Backus is the best one). Even if there was, we don't have the money to sign top talent.

Gallery didn't start at LT, because Barry Sims played very well. Plus, You usually never hear about o-linemen playing well.

So what am I trying to say...
I WANT AN OT. Eric Winston or Jonathan Scott or Winston Justice or even Daryn Colledge...Welcome to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers._________________Beasts: Sergio Kindle/ Sam Young/ Chris Wells/ Gerald McCoy/ Micah Johnson/ Andre Smith.

So what am I trying to say...
I WANT AN OT. Eric Winston or Jonathan Scott or Winston Justice or even Daryn Colledge...Welcome to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Do any of those guys start at RT to protect the blindside. Cause I know Jeff Backus does. In 2001 we passed on Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne and Todd Heap to take Walker. I don't know if a late 1st round rookie is the answer. And don't kid yourself, a 1st rounder is expensive, no matter what position they play. And you have more room to structure a veteran. Signing a free agent might end up being cheaper, not to mention safer. You have to remember O-linemen are like wine. They might smell a little funny but they get better with age. Linebackers and cornerbacks don't. They get slower.

And if you are talking about the running game a tackle doesn't matter anyway. Cadillac runs in the middle. You need guards, not tackles.

I'd like to see some D depth in the 1st. If Greenway fell I'd love to take him. The same is true for some corners. Bolden's a free agent and got burned a lot this year. Take a CB in the 1st and set him up at nickel for a year.

2nd round take a T. This year has tons of depth and you're going to get a guy in the 2nd with no more question marks as any of the guys you listed. Then to help the run take a guard or two. Elton Brown was slated last year as the best pure run blocking guard and he went 111 overall. After Dan Buenning might I add. Take one of those guys. He'll start before a guard will start.

We have some huge holes on the line, obviously. I think the holes might be too big to fill in the 1st round. I'd hate to pass on Greenway or Tye Hill and get a guy with a bum knee from playing defense or somebody who's stupid enough to pull a gun on a classmate.

P.S. Watch posting copyrighted material from Pewter. I doubt he or Webby would like it very much.

Fact is Tackles are one of the surest postions you can draft. Yatta has been bustish(because his play has improved substancially but has by no means lived up to where we took him), but the exception doesn't make the rule and Gruden/Allen weren't even there when the pick was made.

If we get a LT, it solves everything(and yes Winston Justice has been protecting this guy Leinart's blindside for quite some time). Getting a LT would allow us to move Davis to RG(where he would own in the running game and his weakness is pass blocking would not be as noticeable since he wouldn't be going up again speedy DEs) where he can compete with Terry or even to RT so he can compete with Colmer(thought I don't think it is necessary because Colmer has progressed a lot this year). This pick would also allow us to move Mahan back to Center where he played much better at last year than he did this year at guard(the way he got his [inappropriate/removed] whipped was pathetic).

The running game also depends on tackles especially with a runner like Caddy who is more of an outside runner than an inside power back(if you think that tackles don't matter when running inside either, you are way off).

We have Cooper(who we picked in the third round mind you) and if we wanted another talented OLB we could take someone like Ernie Sims or Thomas Howard in the second. Fact is that taking an OLB would be a pick for the future and not as urgent a need as OT, so it would be way more logical reserve THAT pick for the second round.

We can find good CBs for our system in the third and second rounds(uhh....Barber...Kelly...Abraham), so taking one in the first in unthinkable.

O and by the way...that isn't copyrighted material...it comes straight from the message boards which are free and open to everyone._________________Beasts: Sergio Kindle/ Sam Young/ Chris Wells/ Gerald McCoy/ Micah Johnson/ Andre Smith.